Portland man gets life in prison for 2022 fatal shooting of girlfriend in Wallace Park
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- A Multnomah County judge sentenced a Portland man to life in prison Tuesday for fatally shooting his girlfriend in the neck in a Northwest Portland park back in 2022.
According to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, the judge had found 39-year-old Jake Phillips guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon, both constituting as domestic violence.
The original incident happened on Sept. 23, 2022, when 26-year-old Erika Evans of Austin was found gravely wounded at Wallace Park and died before paramedics could take her to the hospital.
Police later arrested Phillips in Brookings on a robbery warrant out of Washington County after he stole firearms from another person several days before the murder. At that time, police said Phillips had a fanny pack containing a 40-caliber gun, which matched the shell casing found at the murder scene.
Officials further noted Phillips was last seen with Evans two hours before her death.
According to Paul Evans, Erika's father, he had wanted to get her away from Phillips, a “vagabond” who had been dating her on and off since he urged her to go on a road trip from Austin to California in 2020.
He added Erika had been “doing really well” during her last days in Austin, until she drove to Portland with Phillips in late August 2022. Then the following month, she was found dead.
In Feb. 2023, a jury indicted Phillips and he was extradited to Multnomah County for the trial.
Although Phillips was incarcerated on a life sentence, he'll have a possibility of parole after 25 years.